SECTION CCLXXXV

"Markandeya said, "Then Kumbhakarna set out from the city, accompanied by his followers. And soon he beheld the victorious monkey troops encamped before him. And passing them by with the object of seeking out Rama, he beheld the son of Sumitra standing at his post, bow in hand. Then the monkey warriors, speedily advancing towards him, surrounded him on all sides. And then they commenced to strike him with numberless large trees. And many amongst them fearlessly began to tear his body with their nails. And those monkeys began to fight with him in various ways approved by the laws of warfare. And they soon overwhelmed that chief of the Rakshasas with a shower of terrible weapons of various kinds. And attacked by them thus, Kumbhakarna only laughed at them and began to eat them up. And he devoured those foremost of monkeys known by the name of Chala, and Chandachala, and Vajravahu. And beholding that fearful act of the Rakshasa, other monkeys were frightened and set forth a loud wail of fear. And hearing the screams of those monkey-leaders, Sugriva boldly advanced towards Kumbhakarna. And that high-souled king of the monkeys swiftly approaching the Rakshasa, violently struck him on the head with the trunk of a Sala tree. And though the high-souled Sugriva always prompt in action broke that Sala tree on the head of Kumbhakarna, he failed to make any impression on that Rakshasa. And then, as if roused from his torpor by that blow, Kumbhakarna stretching forth his arms seized Sugriva by main force. And beholding Sugriva dragged away by the Rakshasa, the heroic son of Sumitra, that delighter of his friends, rushed towards Kumbhakarna. And that slayer of hostile

heroes, Lakshmana, advancing towards Kumbhakarna, discharged at him an impetuous and mighty arrow furnished with golden wings. And that arrow, cutting through his coat of mail and penetrating into his body, passed through it outright and struck into the earth, stained with the Rakshasa's blood. Kumbhakarna then, having his breast thus bored through, released the king of monkeys. And taking up a huge mass of stone as his weapon, the mighty warrior Kumbhakarna then rushed towards the son of Sumitra, aiming it at him. And as the Rakshasa rushed towards him, Lakshmana cut off his upraised arms by means of a couple of keen-edged shafts furnished with heads resembling razors. But as soon as the two arms of the Rakshasa were thus cut off, double that number of arms soon appeared on his person. Sumitra's son, however, displaying his skill in weapon, soon by means of similar arrows cut off those arms also, each of which had seized a mass of stone. At this, that Rakshasa assumed a form enormously huge and furnished with numerous heads and legs and arms. Then the son of Sumitra rived, with a Brahma weapon, that warrior looking like an assemblage of hill. And rent by means of that celestial weapon, that Rakshasa fell on the field of battle like a huge tree with spreading branches suddenly consumed by heaven's thunderbolt. And beholding Kumbhakarna endued with great activity and resembling the Asura Vritra himself, deprived of life and prostrated on the field of battle, the Rakshasa warriors fled in fear. And beholding the Rakshasa warriors running away from the field of battle, the younger brother of Dushana, rallying them, rushed in great wrath upon the son of Sumitra. Sumitra's son, however, with a loud roar, received with his winged shafts both those wrathful warriors, Vajravega and Promathin, rushing towards him. The battle then, O son of Pritha, that took place between those two younger brothers of Dushana on the one hand and the intelligent Lakshmana on the other, was exceedingly furious and made the bristles of the spectators stand on end. And Lakshmana overwhelmed the two Rakshasas with a perfect shower of arrows. And those two Rakshasa heroes, on the other hand, both of them excited with fury, covered Lakshmana with an arrowy hail. And that terrible encounter between Vajravega and Promathin and the mighty-armed Lakshmana lasted for a short while. And Hanumana, the son of Pavana, taking up a mountain peak, rushed towards one of the brothers, and with that weapon took the life of the Rakshasa Vajravega. And that mighty monkey, Nala, also, with a large mass of rock, crushed Promathin, that other younger brother of Dushana. The deadly struggle, however, between the soldiers of Rama and Ravana, rushing against one another, instead of coming to an end even after this, raged on as before. And hundreds of Rakshasas were slain by the denizens of the forest, while many of the latter were slain by the former. The loss, however, in killed, of the Rakshasas was far greater than that of the monkeys.